Esha (www.braillecards.org and www.clabil.org) is an initiative by volunteers to make life better for the blind. We use the word blind because its neutral. There is no disability, challenge or special ability attached to this. We are blind means we cannot see. Period. Just like you are sighted means you can see.
You can access the online library directly at www.braillecards.org/audio.htm

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Blind Walk at Cyber Hub!!

“Walk by faith even when you can’t see, as it holds enough light for
those who want to believe”

Blind walks give us an
opportunity to experience the difficulty in accessing the public spaces when
one lacks sight. Sometimes in our busy routine we tend to forget our basic
responsibilities. An inclusive environment for our fellow beings is something
that’s long forgotten. A brilliant design, be it of any product or business
should be thought about keeping in mind not only the masses but also the extreme
users of the product. Activities like blind walk remind us our
responsibilities.

We had conducted 3 blind walks
last year in Galleria and Leisure Valley. We planned to conduct one at the busy
Cyber Hub to engage the corporate employees in the social experiment. The
response we received was different from the other two walks. In our previous
walks we received immediate interest for volunteering and experiencing the walk
from the public. In cyber hub, on a busy Wednesday afternoon the corporate
employees showed less enthusiasm in joining the walk as they were busy with
their daily routine and schedule at work. We wanted to grasp their attention
and make them experience the walk.

We were 10 volunteers from Esha
and SOIL, we demonstrated the walk to the crowd. There was one volunteer from
the crowd who was curious and agreed to participate. Slowly it turned out
that many folks were interested in trying it out. Around 50 corporate employees
participated. Group of friends, colleagues who had come for a team
get-together, reporters from media started joining the walk.

We got diverse responses from the
participants after the walk. Some were surprised, some were taken aback, some
struggled to cross a stretch, some had to be guided for every
step they kept, some walked really fast bumping into the crowd. There was this
one person who came up to us and gave his mail id and asked us to call him when we
conduct other events. Overall it was an enriching experience that had
sensitized the corporate mass at the cyber hub.

The media coverage helped us share the message to a wider audience. Gurgaon Times, NavBharat Times, Times of India Gurgaon and Bhaskar News Gurgaon covered the walk.